Dinahann! Jasper Fforde is giving a reading and a book signing in my city tonight! I'm so excited.
I'm glad you enjoyed it! It's such an odd book I was afraid you'd buy it, hate it, and blame me. I personally liked the second book even more than the first -- I envy you that you still have them in front of you.

All my life, I have felt destiny tugging at my sleeve.~ Thursday NextI don't want to "go with the flow". The flow just washes you down the drain. I want to fight the flow.- Henry RollinsAll this spiritual talk is great and everything...but at the end of the day, there's nothing like a pair of skinny jeans. - Jillian Michaels

For Dinahann, and AJane when she gets sucked in, and anyone else who was a fan of the "Eyre Affair", the Jasper Fforde reading was excellent. He talked for more than an hour, and signed books afterwards. He said he's under contract for three more books, but they won't (either not all, or not any, I'm not sure) be Thursday Next books; the next one, coming out about a year from now, will be a straightforward police procedural investigation into the mysterious circumstances surrounding Humpty Dumpty's death.
Anyway, he was great. And now I have a big copy of the fourth book in that series to read.

For Dinahann, and AJane when she gets sucked in, and anyone else who was a fan of the "Eyre Affair", the Jasper Fforde reading was excellent. He talked for more than an hour, and signed books afterwards. He said he's under contract for three more books, but they won't (either not all, or not any, I'm not sure) be Thursday Next books; the next one, coming out about a year from now, will be a straightforward police procedural investigation into the mysterious circumstances surrounding Humpty Dumpty's death.
Anyway, he was great. And now I have a big copy of the fourth book in that series to read.

Ahhh Lucy - I can't wait for a police procedural on Humpty Dumpty! That is just sooo funny. He is just so droll... Now I'm impatient to get the next book in the series. I'll be visiting Hastings in the next week or so.

Tell me, was he a funny guy or was he straightforward? Did he make reference to any other literary characters? He seems like he would have a sly, almost obscure type of humor. I really wish I could've been there.

Dina, he was really funny. Very droll. You pegged him exactly. He joked that most of his family -- but not him -- have doctorate degrees, in useless things like history, so family reunions are a lot of "Oh, hello, Dr. Fforde. Why, Dr. Fforde, how are you? Could you move your car, Dr. Fforde? Oh, hi, Jasper." And said that's part of why he rather likes to skewer academia (which, btw, he said has totally taken over "Wuthering Heights." )
The new book evidently centers quite a lot on Hamlet and his dithering, with a soliloquy (sp?) on the confusing array of choices at Starbucks. And I think he said there's a sequel to the Humpty Dumpty thing, concerning the Three Bears -- I know he said Mama Bear and Papa Bear slept in separate beds, which raises a lot of questions about obvious marital discord.
I don't know where you live, but you might check his website (jasperfforde.com) to see if he's coming anywhere near you. If so, try to go, it really was great.

...He joked that most of his family -- but not him -- have doctorate degrees, in useless things like history, so family reunions are a lot of "Oh, hello, Dr. Fforde. Why, Dr. Fforde, how are you? Could you move your car, Dr. Fforde? Oh, hi, Jasper." And said that's part of why he rather likes to skewer academia (which, btw, he said has totally taken over "Wuthering Heights." )

Gotta love a guy with a sense of humor.

Originally Posted by Lucy

The new book evidently centers quite a lot on Hamlet and his dithering, with a soliloquy (sp?) on the confusing array of choices at Starbucks. And I think he said there's a sequel to the Humpty Dumpty thing, concerning the Three Bears -- I know he said Mama Bear and Papa Bear slept in separate beds, which raises a lot of questions about obvious marital discord.
I don't know where you live, but you might check his website (jasperfforde.com) to see if he's coming anywhere near you. If so, try to go, it really was great.

The Hamlet soliloquy? x10!

Where has this guy been? I can't believe I never even heard of him before you recommended The Eyre Affair, but in all fairness I've been stuck in a rut lately, reading the same old books by the same authors. It's great to "find" somebody new, with a fresh style.

I checked his website but I live in Texas and his tour is all east coast.
Oh well, it's enough to have something to look forward to.

"The Eyre Affair" was the first thing he got published. Although he's also been a screenwriter. But the Humpty Dumpty thing was apparently the first thing he wrote. And no one would buy it. Silly people.

I just finished Murder Suicide by Keith Ablow. He is a forensic scientist that writes psychological thrillers. It was an excellent book and it was very hard to put down. I cannot wait to read another one of his books.